Published: December 31, 2012 at 2:18 pm

Berkshire Hathaway sells 2 short-line railroads (DailyFinance) Warren Buffett‘s company has sold two short-line railroads it recently discovered it owned to satisfy regulators who might have reviewed Berkshire Hathaway’s 2010 acquisition of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe, LLC (NYSE:BNI) railroad. Berkshire told the Transportation Department’s Surface Transportation Board earlier this month that it had completed the sale of both short-line railroads ahead of schedule. If Berkshire had reported owning those railroads when it bought BNSF, the Surface Transportation Board would have had to scrutinize the deal. Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A) first disclosed owning the railroads to the Surface Transportation Board in September.

MidAmerican completes 300MW California wind project (NewEnergyWorldNetwork)
MidAmerican Wind, subsidiary of Warren Buffett-owned MidAmerican Renewables, has completed installation of the 300MW Pinyon Pines I and II California project. Developed in two stages known as Alta Wind VII and Alta Wind IX, the facility consists of 100 3MW turbines supplied by Danish manufacturer Vestas. It is supported by a long-term power purchase agreement with Southern California Edison. MidAmerican now has more than 1.25GW of wind plants in operation or under construction.

‘Women Will Save US Economy’, Predicts Billionaire Investor Warren Buffett (BizTechReport)
As fears grow that the United States is preparing to plunge over the ‘fiscal cliff’, billionaire investor Warren Buffett has predicted that women will save the American economy, billionaire investor Warren Buffett has predicted. Buffett, the so-called ‘ Sage of Omaha ‘ said that affording women the same prospects to succeed as men was key to a bright economic future. He said that his is the ‘only thing’ that makes him so optimistic about the future. According to the Telegraph, Buffett’s remarks came during an interview with fellow philanthropist Melinda Gates, with BBC Radio 4.

Billionaire Buffett wrote the book on philantropy (TheRepublic)
I couldn’t wait to get my hands on Tap Dancing to Work, a collection of Fortune writings by and about Warren Buffett that trace the arc of his career from 1966 to the present. Another hat I wear is chairperson of Heritage Fund-The Community Foundation of Bartholomew County, so I was particularly interested to read about Buffett’s philosophy on philanthropy. In June of 2010, Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates announced the Giving Pledge. It was their effort to convince the richest Americans to gift at least 50 percent of their wealth to philanthropy during their lifetimes or at death. Buffett’s letter announcing his pledge is reprinted in full in the book and at www.givingpledge.org.

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